Chemotherapy

People I know who have had chemo get sick for a few days after and then come back to normal and then it’s time for the next session.

Doctor said this in a recent webinar

Cancer-related fatigue affects more than 80% of patients who receive chemotherapy or radiation therapy, while depression affects around 25% of patients. Unlike typical fatigue, cancer-related fatigue can linger for weeks, months, or even years after treatment.

After years of hearing people talk about their chemotherapy, I have never heard of anyone having fatigue for a long period, without other drugs being involved.

John Hopkins and Moffitt say

Hair Loss and Mouth Sores: Chemotherapy drugs like docetaxel often cause hair loss and mouth sores, as they target hair follicles and mucous membranes. You can wear an Ice cap to reduce the hair loss, They sell them on Amazon you put them in the freezer before going to do chemo)
2. Gastrointestinal Issues: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and loss of appetite are frequent, managed with anti-nausea medications and dietary adjustments

I don't have personal experience with chemo (yet) because my stage-4 cancer is still castrate-sensitive, but from supporting a friend through it a couple of years ago, I can say that for him it was far from the nightmare TV and movies make it out to be.

It did affect his energy level and appetite for a while after each treatment. His hair thinned but didn't all fall out, and it grew back afterwards each time. He was still able to ride his bicycle and go out for pizza with me after he'd recovered from treatment for a few weeks, but he did lose a fair bit of weight.

Even a day or two after a session, he was able to sit with me on my front porch and drink mint tea and eat (and enjoy) Peek Frean Crème cookies.

I can only address my husband's experience and with only one form of chemo. My husband had six rounds of docetaxel chemo years ago. His side effects followed a familiar pattern: he felt energetic and good the first day or two after the chemo because of the steroids he got with his infusion to minimize immediate side effects. Then he felt exhausted the rest of week one, but no nausea or vomiting or other GI symptoms. Week Two he felt progressively better than during week one, and in Week Three, he felt increasingly good and pretty normal--just in time for the next round of chemo to be given. The chemo really knocked the PSA down and the cancer back, as revealed by scans, and it kept the cancer suppressed for some time. So for us, chemo was absolutely the right thing to do as soon as it was recommended by Dr. Kwon at Mayo Rochester and by his local oncologist at Simon Cancer Center in Indianapolis.

NOTE: Something to watch for--my husband's white blood cell count plummeted after the first week of chemo, and he was given a medication to build his white blood cells back up to normal levels. Apparently this is pretty common, both the white blood cells tanking after a chemo infusion and the use of Neulasta when it occurs. After it happened to hm, my husband was given a Neulasta OnPro device by the infusion nurses to wear on his upper arm for about 27 hours after each subsequent chemo infusion. At about the 27-hour mark after chemo is given, the device injects the medication directly into the patient and then you simply remove it from the upper arm and discard it as medical waste. There was no real pain, just a prick, when the device injected the medication, and it did not hurt at all when I removed it from my husband's arm.
I hope this helps reassure the original poster and anyone else concerned about having chemo, and also reminds everyone to watch out for the effects of docetaxel on the white blood cell count. I should say that I don't know if other chemotherapy drugs have the same effect.

I did not have chemo but you may want to find out whether doing chemo at home with the portable, wear on your body equipment is more comfortable and as effective as going to a doctors office. Quality of life is important.

I had the triple treatment starting April 2024. I took six rounds of the chemo docetaxel. I had hair loss of course. Sore mouth, thirst, and tired effects. There is a gargle solution for sore mouth, drink lots of water, and rest a lot. All these effects would start about two days after a treatment, and then would last about four days. I would then begin to feel pretty good until it was time for another treatment. I was not sick at all nor did I have any bathroom problems. I don't think anyone wants chemo, but I don't think anyone should be afraid. The only thing I would do if I needed it again is to put ice packs on my feet during the infusion.

good luck and keep the good thoughts

Thanks so much for your encouraging words. My husband will be on docetaxel.
How many years ago was his chemo and how is he doing now? Thanks for the heads up on the white blood cell count.

Thanks and good to know. My husband is pretty active...cycles 30K every day. After Chemo, was your friend stabilized...? How is he doing now?

My husband had docetaxel chemotherapy almost nine years ago. It knocked the cancer down and no new metastases appeared for several years. Since the chemo, my husband has had many other treatments for metastatic prostate cancer: Zytiga, Lupron shots, lots of spot radiation to spinal metastases, ablation of one cancer spot on his spine, and Pluvicto. He was first diagnosed in 2005, and is still here 20 years later, at age 78, with no major ill effects from either the cancer or the treatments. So take heart--men can live for many years with Stage 4 prostate cancer, and live pretty well too.